718 Owners- Good and Bad Points?
Discussion
I've had my Miami Blue C718S (PDK) for a little over 3000 miles now. It gets used as a daily, all types of journey, all types of weather - very capable, rewarding car to drive. Can be a very serious sports car one minute and then a very able GT car the next. It is obviously more compromised in the GT car context, primarily due to the fairly loud road and tyre noise (I've got 20" wheels), but this is far from obtrusive - I do a lot of miles, on typically longer journey's up and down the country and don't find the car tiring at all in this respect. I plan to keep the car for at least the next three years and will do 50,000 miles plus in that time.
Spec wise, I got this pretty much spot on for what I need (although I wish I'd stuck with the Guards Red seatbelts (bottled it in the end with the Miami blue colour, but in hindsight they would have looked great)). So I wouldn't remove anything I spec'd, but would add Power Steering Plus and Porsche Entry and Drive, just for the convenience..so nothing major at all. The standard stereo is good, so no need for Bose IMO (glad I sampled this before buying), the adaptive LED lights are fantastic (although not as 'clever' as the comparable BMW offering), full leather (dash etc) lovely, SPASM (-20mm) very good (was nervous about this as wanted the aesthetics of the lower ride height but didn't want to compromise the ride too much, went for it and am very pleased with the ride handling compromise). PDK is excellent, just excellent. PSE is good although enhances the sound outside the car more than inside with a deeper tone (pressing the Sport button has a much more dramatic effect on sound inside the car). One personal touch I added was the aluminium trim in the cabin to replace the shiny silver trim that comes as standard, very very pleased with this (and it also matches the rear strut brace and boot shelf between the oil/water fillers, which I didn't realise at the time of ordering but gives the cabin a nice 'completeness for me).
As a drivers car its superlative - typical Porsche. You'll read a lot of bulls
t on here about the engine. Ignore it. Not one person has got out of my car saying it sounds st. Yes really. Without exception, everyone who has been in it has been shocked at the amount of performance on offer and been pleasantly surprised at the noise it makes...given what they had previously read on the internet. I also get mid-high 30's mpg on my way to work in a morning (5 miles x-country, 10 miles M1, 5 miles dual carriage way, 4 miles in town)...a 'little' less on the way home! Now its got some miles on it also revs like few other turbo'd motors I've ever driven. It certainly doesn't demonstrate the 'all all or nothing' diesel power delivery and increases in its urgency and aggressiveness as the revs increase all the way to the 7500rpm limit. It's pretty savage to be honest, especially at high revs. Yes, if you want to you can purposely generate some turbo lag (maybe more easily in a manual?), but driven positively (even at low speed/revs), I fail to see how people are experiencing excessive lag? Porsche has done a great job here.
Possibly due to the colour, it attracts a lot of positive attention - the styling tweaks vs the 981 seem to be popular. Personal preference though, you'll either like the direction Porsche is heading in with its styling or you won't. Personally I think the car looks more cohesive now.
I had an annoying rattle from the trim in the rear boot/boot latch but this was quickly resolved with some cunningly placed sticky-back felt - car is silent now so the quality is definitely there. The front tyres (Pirelli) also scrub and judder during low speed manoeuvring which sounds a bit disconcerting, but this is obviously just something that is part of the experience. These have been the only irritants in an otherwise brilliant first 3000 miles.
Great car. It's a Porsche so my expectations were high and I'm very much looking forward to the next few years driving it.
There are some lovely cars on this forum in most of the colours/options available, worth having a browse around and hopefully other owners will chime in with their experiences as well.
Spec wise, I got this pretty much spot on for what I need (although I wish I'd stuck with the Guards Red seatbelts (bottled it in the end with the Miami blue colour, but in hindsight they would have looked great)). So I wouldn't remove anything I spec'd, but would add Power Steering Plus and Porsche Entry and Drive, just for the convenience..so nothing major at all. The standard stereo is good, so no need for Bose IMO (glad I sampled this before buying), the adaptive LED lights are fantastic (although not as 'clever' as the comparable BMW offering), full leather (dash etc) lovely, SPASM (-20mm) very good (was nervous about this as wanted the aesthetics of the lower ride height but didn't want to compromise the ride too much, went for it and am very pleased with the ride handling compromise). PDK is excellent, just excellent. PSE is good although enhances the sound outside the car more than inside with a deeper tone (pressing the Sport button has a much more dramatic effect on sound inside the car). One personal touch I added was the aluminium trim in the cabin to replace the shiny silver trim that comes as standard, very very pleased with this (and it also matches the rear strut brace and boot shelf between the oil/water fillers, which I didn't realise at the time of ordering but gives the cabin a nice 'completeness for me).
As a drivers car its superlative - typical Porsche. You'll read a lot of bulls
t on here about the engine. Ignore it. Not one person has got out of my car saying it sounds st. Yes really. Without exception, everyone who has been in it has been shocked at the amount of performance on offer and been pleasantly surprised at the noise it makes...given what they had previously read on the internet. I also get mid-high 30's mpg on my way to work in a morning (5 miles x-country, 10 miles M1, 5 miles dual carriage way, 4 miles in town)...a 'little' less on the way home! Now its got some miles on it also revs like few other turbo'd motors I've ever driven. It certainly doesn't demonstrate the 'all all or nothing' diesel power delivery and increases in its urgency and aggressiveness as the revs increase all the way to the 7500rpm limit. It's pretty savage to be honest, especially at high revs. Yes, if you want to you can purposely generate some turbo lag (maybe more easily in a manual?), but driven positively (even at low speed/revs), I fail to see how people are experiencing excessive lag? Porsche has done a great job here. Possibly due to the colour, it attracts a lot of positive attention - the styling tweaks vs the 981 seem to be popular. Personal preference though, you'll either like the direction Porsche is heading in with its styling or you won't. Personally I think the car looks more cohesive now.
I had an annoying rattle from the trim in the rear boot/boot latch but this was quickly resolved with some cunningly placed sticky-back felt - car is silent now so the quality is definitely there. The front tyres (Pirelli) also scrub and judder during low speed manoeuvring which sounds a bit disconcerting, but this is obviously just something that is part of the experience. These have been the only irritants in an otherwise brilliant first 3000 miles.
Great car. It's a Porsche so my expectations were high and I'm very much looking forward to the next few years driving it.
There are some lovely cars on this forum in most of the colours/options available, worth having a browse around and hopefully other owners will chime in with their experiences as well.
Base 718 GT Silver Cayman, daily drive. Love it, everyone who has been near or in it loves it. Similar to the last post, never had anything but positive comment on the long discussed sound - this includes a good few people with long Porsche history expecting it to sound like a total disaster area being very pleasantly surprised. General comment being it’s an amazing sounding flat 4, it’s not trying to sound like a flat 6 and the sound it makes is simply different, in a good way. GT Silver amazing, changes all day every day in various lights. Paired with satin black 20s it looks suitably aggressive without being too shouty. Model designation in black was a good move, looks good and completes the Silver/Black theme.
PSE is great - certainly not 100% necessary but would regret not speccing it. PASM is fantastic and the last few evening drives home I’ve been very grateful for the auto dimming mirrors as 4x4 lights seem to be painfully lined up with the mirrors...occasional regrets not going full leather but the Alcantara is great and the optioned Alcantara storage compartment lifts the interior disproportionately for the spend. That said, next time unless lucky enough to be in a GT car, will be full leather I think.
Standard lights - plenty good enough, no washer nozzles to look at. No denying LEDs look amazing but for me they weren’t worth the cash and I still have that view. Country lanes, town, city the boggo are more than bright enough and work fine on the continent with no mods.
So much fun to drive - comes alive in a heartbeat on demand. Agree on road noise it’s quite loud on less than perfect surface maybe that is the Pirellis though. PDK is a revelation- responsive, clever and makes you feel totally involved when you want to push on, and suitably smooth in traffic when you don’t.
Base is very quick, it just keeps accelerating to silly speeds given half a chance.
Amazing car, will be very, very hard to replace, certainly for the money.
PSE is great - certainly not 100% necessary but would regret not speccing it. PASM is fantastic and the last few evening drives home I’ve been very grateful for the auto dimming mirrors as 4x4 lights seem to be painfully lined up with the mirrors...occasional regrets not going full leather but the Alcantara is great and the optioned Alcantara storage compartment lifts the interior disproportionately for the spend. That said, next time unless lucky enough to be in a GT car, will be full leather I think.
Standard lights - plenty good enough, no washer nozzles to look at. No denying LEDs look amazing but for me they weren’t worth the cash and I still have that view. Country lanes, town, city the boggo are more than bright enough and work fine on the continent with no mods.
So much fun to drive - comes alive in a heartbeat on demand. Agree on road noise it’s quite loud on less than perfect surface maybe that is the Pirellis though. PDK is a revelation- responsive, clever and makes you feel totally involved when you want to push on, and suitably smooth in traffic when you don’t.
Base is very quick, it just keeps accelerating to silly speeds given half a chance.
Amazing car, will be very, very hard to replace, certainly for the money.
Porsche718S said:
I
Possibly due to the colour, it attracts a lot of positive attention - the styling tweaks vs the 981 seem to be popular. Personal preference though, you'll either like the direction Porsche is heading in with its styling or you won't. Personally I think the car looks more cohesive now.
I don’t want to de rail the thread but a comment in another thread about negative attention got me thinking about changing my colour from guards which is a shame because I really like it. Possibly due to the colour, it attracts a lot of positive attention - the styling tweaks vs the 981 seem to be popular. Personal preference though, you'll either like the direction Porsche is heading in with its styling or you won't. Personally I think the car looks more cohesive now.
Have you had any negative attention? Or anyone else?
Rojibo said:
Porsche718S said:
I
Possibly due to the colour, it attracts a lot of positive attention - the styling tweaks vs the 981 seem to be popular. Personal preference though, you'll either like the direction Porsche is heading in with its styling or you won't. Personally I think the car looks more cohesive now.
I don’t want to de rail the thread but a comment in another thread about negative attention got me thinking about changing my colour from guards which is a shame because I really like it. Possibly due to the colour, it attracts a lot of positive attention - the styling tweaks vs the 981 seem to be popular. Personal preference though, you'll either like the direction Porsche is heading in with its styling or you won't. Personally I think the car looks more cohesive now.
Have you had any negative attention? Or anyone else?
Rojibo said:
Porsche718S said:
I
Possibly due to the colour, it attracts a lot of positive attention - the styling tweaks vs the 981 seem to be popular. Personal preference though, you'll either like the direction Porsche is heading in with its styling or you won't. Personally I think the car looks more cohesive now.
I don’t want to de rail the thread but a comment in another thread about negative attention got me thinking about changing my colour from guards which is a shame because I really like it. Possibly due to the colour, it attracts a lot of positive attention - the styling tweaks vs the 981 seem to be popular. Personal preference though, you'll either like the direction Porsche is heading in with its styling or you won't. Personally I think the car looks more cohesive now.
Have you had any negative attention? Or anyone else?
alan718s said:
what thread talk about negative attention? The Flat6 society knocked on your door and gave you an earful?
Just some chap with a GR GT4 saying he didn’t feel comfortable leaving it anywhere, and had received quite a bit of negative attention. Porsche718S said:
Not really. There has been the occasional tool with an inferiority complex, but in my experience you get negative attention from these types whatever the car you drive. I'm wasn't going to spend this much cash on a car and choose the colour based on what someone else might do/think. Get what you like, its a Porsche sports car at the end of the day and to be honest, it won't make a difference if its bright red or dark blue as it looks special in all shades...it's going to attract all kinds of attention (lots). I hear 'lovely colour, wish I had the guts to go for it...' a lot, too many people prejudice their purchase based on the thoughts and actions of others. It's your Porsche so make yourself happy and get what YOU want. Guards Red is fantastic.
No you’re right, I think I’m worrying unnecessarily, I’ll stick with what I like, as you say at the end of the day it’s my choice 
Thanks for the input so far though, really good to hear your thoughts.
If I’d listened to all the forum nerds I wouldn’t have a disgusting Crayon/Beige/Fiat-Colour/Brown 718 sat in the garage 
Oddly my car has had nothing but amazing comments from people who’ve seen it in the flesh, more so than any of my previous Porsche’s.
Looks like you’ve already decided to go with your gut, good choice on GR
Oddly my car has had nothing but amazing comments from people who’ve seen it in the flesh, more so than any of my previous Porsche’s.
Looks like you’ve already decided to go with your gut, good choice on GR
Thanks! I think it’s more just naivety on my behalf that people would act with contempt, but I suppose the fact is some people are just dicks.
And your Crayon 718 I’ve stalked does look absolutely stunning! That said I think they look great in any colour really. I’d be interested to hear from anyone with a manual car if they think SC is worth it. I keep debating adding it.
And your Crayon 718 I’ve stalked does look absolutely stunning! That said I think they look great in any colour really. I’d be interested to hear from anyone with a manual car if they think SC is worth it. I keep debating adding it.
Rojibo said:
I don’t want to de rail the thread but a comment in another thread about negative attention got me thinking about changing my colour from guards which is a shame because I really like it.
Have you had any negative attention? Or anyone else?
When looking for my 981 GR was a top choice until I spoke to my brother in law who had bought a new 997 in GR. He had so many comments about it looking pink he sold it a few weeks later (at RRP, and bought one in another colour). Have you had any negative attention? Or anyone else?
I couldn't work out how it could look pink until, nearing dusk on the forecourt of Reading OPC, I heard someone comment "oh look, a pink Cayman" and there it was, glowing dusky pink in the twilight.
Just put me off ever so slightly. 99% of the time it will look red, but just to warn you if pink isn't your bag?
Had mine for 3 months now. Base manual with a few extras.
In my opinion, Sport Chrono is well worth it when coupled with a manual box. Plenty wil disagree with me I suspect, but seriously try a manual onr with and one without back to back. Its more than rev matching and a dial on the wheel.
Car is surprisingly practical like all generations before it. Fine to use for everyday commuting.
Re: noise, agree with the poster above who said that not a single person who's been it with me has complained about it. There's no doubt it doesn't sound as good as the 981 etc. But its overstated how "bad" it apparently is. That said, there is a rattly tickover which i find a bit annoying in stop start traffic.
Lag. There is some definitely. Its not terrible, but it is there and is most noticeable in a few real world situations (rather than when you're on a hoon). Its not a huge issue but something you sometimes need to drive around in a manual. I suspect in a PDK it'd do a pretty good job of masking it.
Overall really pleased with the car. I think I prefer it to the 987S we owned a few years ago (mainly because its a better everyday road car), and we haven't had chance to take it on track yet, but we have an Exige for that sort of thing anyway so the 718 is perfect for being an everyday usable car you can just enjoy.
In my opinion, Sport Chrono is well worth it when coupled with a manual box. Plenty wil disagree with me I suspect, but seriously try a manual onr with and one without back to back. Its more than rev matching and a dial on the wheel.
Car is surprisingly practical like all generations before it. Fine to use for everyday commuting.
Re: noise, agree with the poster above who said that not a single person who's been it with me has complained about it. There's no doubt it doesn't sound as good as the 981 etc. But its overstated how "bad" it apparently is. That said, there is a rattly tickover which i find a bit annoying in stop start traffic.
Lag. There is some definitely. Its not terrible, but it is there and is most noticeable in a few real world situations (rather than when you're on a hoon). Its not a huge issue but something you sometimes need to drive around in a manual. I suspect in a PDK it'd do a pretty good job of masking it.
Overall really pleased with the car. I think I prefer it to the 987S we owned a few years ago (mainly because its a better everyday road car), and we haven't had chance to take it on track yet, but we have an Exige for that sort of thing anyway so the 718 is perfect for being an everyday usable car you can just enjoy.
I agree on the lag ikonic, it’s something that irritated me at first but I’ve learnt to drive around it (PDK here). And I actually quite enjoy the surge you get pulling away from low speeds in 2nd waiting for it to spool.
Overtaking power is ridiculous, feels a lot faster than my previous BGTS. I also think it feels more agile than any of my previous Boxsters and Caymans.
As for the noise I do miss the howl of the F6 but as others have commented the F4 makes an interesting noise and has its own character. I find it’s way better when you’re hammering it, it doesn’t delight at slow speeds in the way the F6 can.
As for long term ownership, if I can’t get a 718 Spyder or GT4 then I plan on keeping my Crayman for a while .... I’ve said that about a lot of cars though
Overtaking power is ridiculous, feels a lot faster than my previous BGTS. I also think it feels more agile than any of my previous Boxsters and Caymans.
As for the noise I do miss the howl of the F6 but as others have commented the F4 makes an interesting noise and has its own character. I find it’s way better when you’re hammering it, it doesn’t delight at slow speeds in the way the F6 can.
As for long term ownership, if I can’t get a 718 Spyder or GT4 then I plan on keeping my Crayman for a while .... I’ve said that about a lot of cars though
Si-3PO said:
I agree on the lag ikonic, it’s something that irritated me at first but I’ve learnt to drive around it (PDK here). And I actually quite enjoy the surge you get pulling away from low speeds in 2nd waiting for it to spool.
Yep, thats this exact scenario I find irritating day to day. If you're following a car that slows to turn off, slot it down to second, press the throttle then nothing, nothing ..... then bam! Outside of this particular scenario I don't have too many issues with the lag.Good point about engine character. I hear a lot of people suggesting its the same as the 4 pots you get in a myriad of hot hatches, but I think Porsche have done a pretty good job of giving it an inherantly different character to VAG's various 4 pot states of tune.
I honestly think if Porsche offered 4 engine choices for the Cayman, i'd still pick the 2.0 over the 2.7. However, between the 3.2 and 2.5, then it would most certainly be the 3.2.
Got my 718 base in June this year and have covered just short of 9,000 miles. As it is a company car I was working to a bit of a budget so had some compromises on specification. My current spec has
metallic paint
pdk
rear wiper
Carrera S wheels
heated multi function steering wheel
two zone auto climate control
park assist rear
navigation
sports seats 2 way
digital radio
I'm not sure I would change anything, however I would have preferred to add
18 way sports seats as they give more support to my legs
park assist front and rear as I am crap at parking!
cruise control as I am doing some long journeys
dimming mirrors with rain sensor wipers, hate having to keep flicking them on and off
heated seats, its getting cold now!
Having driven over 350 miles in a day to meetings I find the car comfortable even with 20" wheels and no PASM, I love the mid range for overtaking and the handling is awesome I just find it a great car to drive.
I must be tone deaf as I can't really notice a difference in the engine noise AND I did have a 986 Boxster for a while, my neighbours just complain it's noisy and that's without a sports exhaust.
On the whole I think its a great car.
metallic paint
pdk
rear wiper
Carrera S wheels
heated multi function steering wheel
two zone auto climate control
park assist rear
navigation
sports seats 2 way
digital radio
I'm not sure I would change anything, however I would have preferred to add
18 way sports seats as they give more support to my legs
park assist front and rear as I am crap at parking!
cruise control as I am doing some long journeys
dimming mirrors with rain sensor wipers, hate having to keep flicking them on and off
heated seats, its getting cold now!
Having driven over 350 miles in a day to meetings I find the car comfortable even with 20" wheels and no PASM, I love the mid range for overtaking and the handling is awesome I just find it a great car to drive.
I must be tone deaf as I can't really notice a difference in the engine noise AND I did have a 986 Boxster for a while, my neighbours just complain it's noisy and that's without a sports exhaust.
On the whole I think its a great car.
Base 718 PDK
12mths old this week, used as a daily. 8000 miles so far.
Spec regrets?
I was too tight to pay £1600 for Miami Blue, but will probably choose this whatever my next Porsche may be.
I probably wouldn’t go for coloured dials again (I picked Racing yellow). I hadn’t realised that all the engine warning lights etc that are normally invisible are always visible as they are still black. Makes the central rev counter look a bit of a mess.
The F4 sound has been done to death on here. It doesn’t sound as exotic/expensive as my previous 981 but I do like it. My only problem (as mentioned by others) is it sounds far better from the outside. Everyone else gets the fun!
Favourite bits?
I’m a sucker for the pops, farts and crackles on the overrun from the PSE.
I’ve had nothing but positive comments about the car from friends and strangers alike.
Wouldn’t hesitate to buy another.
12mths old this week, used as a daily. 8000 miles so far.
Spec regrets?
I was too tight to pay £1600 for Miami Blue, but will probably choose this whatever my next Porsche may be.
I probably wouldn’t go for coloured dials again (I picked Racing yellow). I hadn’t realised that all the engine warning lights etc that are normally invisible are always visible as they are still black. Makes the central rev counter look a bit of a mess.
The F4 sound has been done to death on here. It doesn’t sound as exotic/expensive as my previous 981 but I do like it. My only problem (as mentioned by others) is it sounds far better from the outside. Everyone else gets the fun!
Favourite bits?
I’m a sucker for the pops, farts and crackles on the overrun from the PSE.
I’ve had nothing but positive comments about the car from friends and strangers alike.
Wouldn’t hesitate to buy another.
I have one main gripe. I’m annoyed the favourite button on the wheel doesn’t advance tracks when my phone is on CarPlay, although it will if the phone is on Bluetooth or set to iPod. I suspect that’s more of an Apple related issue.
The reflection of the Chrono clock in the windscreen is a bit annoying, too.
The reflection of the Chrono clock in the windscreen is a bit annoying, too.
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